The project has a total length of 2,063 kilometres (1,282 mi), starting at Huu Nghi border gate (Lạng Sơn) and terminating at the ring road of Cà Mau city.

The control points of the expressway are located in the Eastern Transport Corridor, running almost parallel to the upgraded and expanded National Highway 1.

The North-South Expressway is being built with 18 sections acting as nodes: Lạng Sơn, Hà Nội, Ninh Bình, Thanh Hóa, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Trị, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Ngãi, Bình Định, Nha Trang, Phan Thiết, Dầu Giây, Long Thành, Bến Lức,HCMC - Trung Luong, My Thuan, Cần Thơ and Cà Mau, with a total cost estimate of VND 350 trillion (equivalent to US$18.5 billion).

[3] The transport corridor on the north–south axis from Lạng Sơn to Cà Mau plays a very important role: connecting the political capital of Hanoi with the economic center of Ho Chi Minh City, passing through 32 provinces and cities accounting for 62.1% of the population, contributing 65.7% of the gross domestic product, affecting 74% of seaports (classes I, II), 75% of economic regions of the country and especially connecting 4 key economic regions (North, Central, South and Mekong Delta), connecting 16 out of 23 airports (91% of passenger traffic).

In 2019, the Ministry of Transport decided to exclude foreign investors from bidding on the North-South Expressway, mainly to prevent Chinese companies from participating.

Public backlash was feared if Chinese companies would collect toll fees, due to strong anti-Chinese sentiment in the country, and national security concerns played a part as well.

The entire expressway construction process is divided into several stages, each phase building a number of smaller routes in the larger sections.